Neil Druckmann (Hebrew: ניל דרוקמן; born December 5, 1978) is an Israeli–American writer, creative director, designer, and programmer.

He was co-lead game designer for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), which he co-wrote with Amy Hennig and Josh Scherr; the narrative was praised and received several accolades.

Druckmann co-led the development of The Last of Us (2013) as writer and creative director, roles he continued for The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014) and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016), co-writing the latter with Scherr.

He was promoted to vice president of Naughty Dog in 2018 during the development of The Last of Us Part II (2020), for which he was creative director and co-writer with Halley Gross.

He earned praise for his writing and directing work on The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, and The Last of Us Part II, which are often regarded among the best written and greatest video games ever made.

[7] As an escape, his older brother Emanuel introduced him to comic books, video games, and movies at a young age,[7][8] such as Pong.

[2] He began to study a criminology major at Florida State University (FSU), aiming to get experience as an FBI agent to use when writing thriller novels.

[13] As an FSU student in 2001, he won a Conker's Bad Fur Day multiplayer competition organized by Nintendo and Playboy.

[15] From July 2002,[13] while living in Tallahassee,[2] Druckmann spent a year as a graphics research assistant at FSU's Visualization Lab.

[17] After taking a programming class, Druckmann realized that it was his preference,[8] and he began a Bachelor of Computer Science with a minor in math in December 2002, graduating cum laude the following year with a grade point average of 3.61.

[25] With illustrations by artist Joysuke Wong, the novel relates Druckmann's interest in traveling back in time to meet his wife at a younger age.

[26] The comic was originally released on February 24, 2010;[27] critics particularly praised Wong's illustrations, as well as Druckmann's writing and character development.

[29] When conceiving ideas for The Last of Us, Druckmann used a concept that he created as a student at Carnegie Mellon University: to merge the gameplay of Ico (2001), the setting of Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the lead character of Sin City (1991–2000).

[30] Druckmann intended The Last of Us to be "rooted firmly within reality", a departure from Naughty Dog's previous "light and loose" feeling.

[40][41][42] Druckmann later worked on a downloadable expansion pack, The Last of Us: Left Behind, a prequel focusing on Ellie's relationship with her friend Riley,[43] which received critical acclaim.

[46] In particular, he was praised for writing a scene involving a kiss between two female characters, which was named a "breakthrough moment" for video games.

[47] He also co-wrote the four-issue comic book miniseries The Last of Us: American Dreams, with writer and artist Faith Erin Hicks.

It was published by Dark Horse Comics, with the first issue released in April 2013,[48] and was lauded for Druckmann's writing and character development, as well as Hicks's simplistic illustrations.

[51] Initial reports claimed that Hennig was "forced out" of Naughty Dog by Druckmann and Straley, though co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra later denied this.

[61] In March 2014, Sony announced that Druckmann was writing a film adaptation of The Last of Us, produced by Sam Raimi and distributed by Screen Gems.

[63] Very little work occurred following this, as Druckmann stated in April 2016 that the film had entered development hell,[64] and in February 2018 said "I don't want that movie to be made.

[5] Druckmann noted that some members of the team felt reluctant about the game's cynicism, but ultimately he preferred a divisive story than a "mundane" one.

[76][77] The audience backlash towards the story led to Druckmann becoming the target of online hate and death threats, which were condemned by Naughty Dog.

[79] An Easter egg in the game's collectible trading cards also references Druckmann in the fictional character Doctor Uckmann.

"[140] Before writing The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, Druckmann and Straley created entire outlines of the stories, before exploring the narrative more intricately, discussing the "moment-to-moment beats" of each level that lead to a bigger event.

[142] Druckmann's favorite video games include Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991), Ico,[143] Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001),[144] and Resident Evil 4 (2005),[143] and he is often inspired by character-focused comics such as Preacher (1995–2000), and Y: The Last Man (2002–2008).

[3] Upon focus testers' criticism regarding the inclusion and portrayal of female characters in Uncharted 4, one of whom was forced to leave due to an outburst, Druckmann expressed "Wow, why does that matter?

[151] Druckmann resides with his children in Santa Monica, California, where he bought a property in 2019; his house was styled by designer Kim Gordon.

[157] Druckmann has a dent in his skull from being accidentally struck in the head with a golf club by a friend at the age of 16, which required 30 stitches.

[168] Druckmann donated US$10,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America following the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022,[169] and US$2,500 each to both Israeli and Palestinian emergency response teams during the Israel–Hamas war in October 2023.